The quarter-final tie with Lyon was supposed to be the warmup. Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City were supposed to breeze through that, and set up a blockbuster semi-final with a quite brilliant Bayern Munich side.
Instead, defeat saw City drop out of the competition at the quarter-final stage for the third year in succession. Sadly, it has become a bit of a theme now for City. They look irresistible during the early stages of the competition, but when it comes to teams of a slightly higher level, they come unstuck, and fail to produce the same level of performance that they do in the earlier rounds.
Guardiola Tinkers With His City Side Some More
City and Guardiola Get That Familiar Sinking Feeling
Last year, it was Tottenham who knocked them out in dramatic fashion at the Etihad Stadium, with Raheem Sterling’s last minute goal ruled out by VAR. The year before that, it was Liverpool, who produced a scintillating display in the first leg at Anfield to put the game beyond City’s reach.
There was a common denominator on both of those occasions. In both first legs, with City playing away from home, Pep Guardiola changed the system that he had deployed so successfully in the league, in an attempt to counteract the threat of the opposition.
It was the same against Lyon. Guardiola’s City side lined-up in what was essentially a back five, with Fernandinho slotting into a central defensive three. In front of them, İlkay Gündoğan sat deep alongside Rodri, leaving City with a front three of Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus. Lyon’s energetic midfield meant we saw very little of either of the wing-backs, João Cancelo and Kyle Walker.
A Tactical Disasterclass From Guardiola
Guardiola claimed that he setup his side to deal with the front two of Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi as he did not have the centre-backs to deal with them in a back four. On the evidence of this, he didn’t have the centre-backs to deal with them in a back three either. The first ball came after a long ball put Toko Ekambi in behind. The second then came as substitute Moussa Dembele took advantage of City’s high line.
Of course, it could have been a very different story. Had Raheem Sterling put away his chance from point blank range with the score at 2-1, or had Ederson not dropped a clanger just seconds later, we could be preparing for a Bayern vs City semi-final. Instead, we are looking at why City struggled to break down their French opponents for long spells of the game, and why their front two were able to find so much room in behind the Guardiola’s City defence.
Time for Change at City and for Guardiola?
Obviously, Guardiola is one of the finest coaches to have graced European football this century. His Barcelona side transformed football, and City dominated the Premier League for two years- playing some sensational football in the process. But his sides have always had success playing slick, fast, attacking football. Yet when it comes to the Champions League knockout stages with City, this has changed.
His squad is better than Lyon’s, and it was better than Tottenham’s last year too. Questions must be asked of why Guardiola continues to tinker with his tactics for these big games. We wouldn’t see Liverpool change their tactics in these games, we wouldn’t see Bayern change.
Guardiola’s contract at City only has one year left to run, and he may feel that after five years, he wants a new challenge. Would one more year be enough to win this competition? Will Guardiola continue to tinker? Who knows. For now, the focus must turn to next season.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
